


adventures in babysitting

by redhawk13



Category: Space Force (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, chantony, tony and chan try to be father figures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:40:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28441038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redhawk13/pseuds/redhawk13
Summary: angela's sister is in town, and she asks chan and tony to watch her niece for a day.
Relationships: Chan Kaifang/F. Tony Scarapiducci
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	adventures in babysitting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thestarsaretalking](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thestarsaretalking/gifts).



> hi everyone! thanks so much for reading - this is my first fanfiction, so i will take any and all positive or negative comments you have! kudos are much appreciated, and please go check out the ceo of chantony luckysam78!

_ “If you change your mind,  _

_ I’m the first in line” _

“Tony-”

_ “Honey I’m still free, _

_ Take a chance on me” _

“Tony!”

“This better be important, because fucking ABBA is playing right now.”

“You were supposed to turn right back there.”

“That’s not what Waze says-”

Tony had been dating Chan for about a year now, so they were well past their honeymoon phase. Banter was typical, especially earlier in the day (Tony isn’t really a morning person). The couple was driving to Angela Ali’s house this particular Saturday morning, as they had been tasked with babysitting Angela’s niece while her and her sister spent the day with one another to catch up. Chan had offered when Angela was ranting to him about how she wanted to spend more time with her sister, and the pilot had accepted gratefully. Of course, where Chan goes, Tony goes, so Tony was (naturally) blasting his go-to playlist in the car on the way to their friend’s house.

“Hey, are you nervous? Like at all?” Tony asked Chan once they had settled on directions (Tony preferred to use Waze, but Chan just went off memory).

“Nervous? No. Why, are you?” The scientist looked over at his boyfriend as they pulled into Angela’s driveway.

“Uh, yeah, a bit.” Tony pulled at the strings on his gray Space Force hoodie and shifted gears, putting the car in park and sitting back. “I haven’t had to deal with kids since I was still in high school and had to watch my sister. And, like, this is Angela’s niece, which is a huge deal.”

“We’ll be fine. Angela is the best, and I’m sure her niece is too. Besides, I read online that you just have to be really prepared, so I made a list of things we can do.” Chan tapped his temple with a finger. “We’ll be fine.”

“If you say so.” Tony unbuckled his seatbelt and turned the car off, getting out and holding Chan’s hand once he got around the front of the car, locking it behind them. The two of them walked to Angela’s front door and Chan rang the doorbell. 

The couple’s friend opened the door with a smile, her braids tied up into a ponytail. “Hey, guys! Thanks for coming!” She walked back in the house, gesturing for Tony and Chan to follow. 

“So, Riley is six, and I’ve told her a bit about you guys,” Angela said, leading them into the kitchen. “I think you’ll have a lot of fun with her. She’s very lively.” As if on cue, a small, dark-skinned girl with pigtails came running into the kitchen, jumping into her aunt’s arms. She grinned at the two men, waving. 

“This is Tony and Dr. Chan, who I told you about,” Angela said, smiling at Riley. The six-year old nodded.

“I heard you work with Aunt Angela!” Riley exclaimed. “Did you go to the moon, too?” Chan shook his head and laughed.

“No, that was just her - the two of us are more behind-the-scenes. I’m a scientist, and Tony is the media manager.” Tony nodded.

“@RealSpaceForce on Twitter, baby,” the taller man added, shooting finger guns at Riley. Riley laughed.

“Well, Alexa is waiting in the car, so I’m going to get going if you guys are alright - I left a list on the counter of where everything you might need is, and Riley can probably help you out some too. Call me if anything goes wrong, of course-”

“Angela,” Chan interrupted, smiling. “We’ll be fine. We’re adults too, you know.” He looked up at Tony. “Well, maybe more me than him.” Tony rolled his eyes fondly. 

Angela smiled, handing Riley off to Tony. “Seriously, you guys, thank you so much.” She grabbed her keys off of the counter and pointed back as she was walking away. “Riley, I better not get any complaints!” She blew a kiss towards the three gathered in the kitchen and walked out the door.

Tony set Riley down. “So, what do you want to do first?” Chan held a finger up and then pulled a board game out of his backpack, holding it up.

“Monopoly!” The scientist proclaimed, smiling. 

“Never played,” Riley said with a shrug.

“You’ve  _ never  _ played Monopoly?” Tony asked, bewildered. “Damn, I’m definitely going to have a word with Ali later.” 

“Tony,” Chan sighed. “The cursing.”

“Oh! Shit! I mean - uh, sugar. Right.” Riley laughed, taking the game from Chan and going into the living room to put it on the table. 

Tony shrugged and looked at Chan. “She’s pretty cool.” The two followed Riley into the living room and helped her set up the game.

About a half hour later, Chan was hardly winning, and Tony could tell that Riley was getting a bit restless. She’d stopped paying all that much attention to the game and had started tugging at Chan’s hair instead, peppering him with questions about various things, such as why he grows out his hair, why he wears glasses instead of contacts, and other little subjects. 

“Riley, it’s your turn,” Chan said gently. Tony could tell that he was getting a bit annoyed with the hair-pulling.

“I don’t want to play anymore,” Riley whined. “This game is so slow.” Tony turned while Chan tried to convince Riley to keep playing. Searching his bag, he made a little “a-ha” noise when he found what he was looking for. He turned back around and moved to sit next to Riley, gently guiding her hands away from Chan’s hair and placing them around a fidget toy he kept with him for when he got too stressed or anxious. Riley smiled at him before looking down at the toy and starting to move it around. Tony noticed Chan walk into the kitchen and followed him after telling Riley that they’d be right back.

“How are you so good at this?” The shorter man asked, clearly distressed.

“Good at what?” Tony replied, tilting his head.

“This whole thing!” Chan threw his hands up. “You gave her just what she needed and she’s done with my suggestion within an hour. I just don’t get it. I thought kids loved board games - I always did when I was younger.”

“Well, I can certainly tell you’ve thought about this a lot,” Tony remarked, smiling slightly. “Honestly, I think that’s your problem. You’re thinking too much.” Tony took his boyfriend’s hands. “Just be yourself. Kids love that. Itineraries, lists, they never hold up when you’re actually with the kid.”

“I guess.” Chan sighed. “Thanks, Tony.”

Two hours later, Tony, Chan, and Riley had just finished eating lunch. Tony was cleaning up as Chan and Riley sat at the table. Riley sighed. “I should probably go do my homework.” She stood up and pushed in her chair. “Wait, didn’t you say you were a scientist?” Chan nodded, adjusting his glasses.

“Why do you ask?” Riley smiled, grabbing Chan’s hand and running into the living room, leading him along. 

“I was going to just research Albert Einstein, but since you’re here…” Riley dug through her bag and took out a folder labeled, “Homework.” She smiled and took out a paper, picking up a pen from the table and clicking it. “I’m supposed to interview a scientist for a project, and I think you’d be great!” 

Tony sat on the sofa, smiling. “You picked well, Riley. Chan is number two at Space Force, so, he’s, like, what Taylor Swift is to pop but to science,” he mused. Riley shook her head and laughed, writing Chan’s name on her paper. Chan smiled fondly, looking over at Tony and giving him the thumbs up. Tony winked back, pulling his phone out.

“Are you - _please_ tell me you aren’t live tweeting this,” Chan sighed. 

“Yup,” Tony replied, popping the “p” and laughing.

Riley’s interview lasted about an hour, as she often had follow up questions. She asked Chan about a lot of subjects, both professional and personal, like how he met Tony (leading to questions about the star named after the President and if they met him), what projects Chan has worked on (leading to remarks such as “wait, you were the one that sent my aunt to the moon?”) and what he studied in college.

When the interview was over, Riley hugged Chan tightly. “You are so cool!” She exclaimed. “I want to be just like you when I’m older.” The scientist hugged her back, a bit surprised. He smiled widely, wiping his eyes. “Of course, Riley. Anytime you need.” 

While Riley put away her homework in her bag, Chan walked over to the couch and sat next to Tony. The taller man put his phone in his pocket and an arm around his boyfriend. The scientist looked up at him, smiling. “We did good, right?”

“We did great,” Tony replied, resting his head on Chan’s.

When Angela and her sister got back, the pilot entered the living room to an interesting scene - Chan was sitting in between Tony and Riley, focused intently on the TV, which was on the final third of  _ Sonic the Hedgehog _ . Tony’s head was on Chan’s lap, and the scientist was playing with his curls absentmindedly as he slept. Riley was slumped against Chan’s other shoulder, also asleep. Chan would maintain to both Angela and Tony that there was no way that he was crying during  _ Sonic the Hedgehog _ when Tom and Sonic said that they’d miss each other. Those weren’t tears - he had just yawned a few too many times. He would also deny that he, not Riley, had suggested the movie - after all, it was a kid’s movie, and he wouldn’t choose to watch a  _ kid’s movie _ , he’s sure (later, Tony would tell Angela that they both watch plenty of kid’s movies - Tony’s personal favorite is  _ The Lego Movie _ ). Tony, too, would deny that Sonic sounded anything like him, and the voice actor “looks nothing like me! Are you crazy! I am so much hotter than that dude.” 

Tony went into the bathroom later that night while Chan was finishing brushing his teeth. “You know, you’re super good with kids,” he remarked. “I was totally ready to brag about how if there was a trophy for best babysitter, I would’ve won, but you killed it. Riley loved you, especially with that whole interview thing.” 

“You think so?” Chan smiled, putting away his toothbrush. “Pretty lucky she was interested in science.”

“No, she was interested in you!” Tony countered. “Dude, she was six. Six year olds aren’t interested in science. You made science fun for her,” he smiled, his eyes sparkling. “You were awesome. I’m like, super lucky to be dating you.” Tony kissed the top of Chan’s head. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” Chan smiled, tugging Tony into the other room. “Come on,  _ Superstore _ ’s almost on!”


End file.
